Romeo Lacoste - Celebrity Tattoo Artist, Family and Personal Life

Right from his childhood Romeo wanted to become an artist as he loved art and paintings more than anything else during his school days. He enjoyed drawing characters from his favorite cartoon shows like ‘Dragon Ball Z’, ‘SpongeBob SquarePants’, ‘Ninja Turtles’, ‘Pokemon’ etc.

When he turned 15, he started taking his art to another level as he incorporated elements into his drawings that gave his art a new dimension. Romeo started focusing on the depth and detailing of his arts which eventually led him to the world of tattoos. Romeo got his first tattoo, a skunk, when he was 17. Interestingly, he got the tattoo inked by himself and that inspired him to make it a full-time career.

Initially, he promoted himself with the help of his friends and by word of mouth. For the first two years, he inked many of his clients who were impressed by his out of the box concepts and designs. In 2009, he created his YouTube channel, ‘winterxdreams’ which brought him under the spotlight. He started posting videos of his own tattoos which furthered his popularity. But for Romeo that was just not good enough. He wanted to be a celebrity tattoo artist so that renowned personalities can carry his art to their coffins.

His breakthrough came when he participated in the third season of the tattoo reality show, ‘Best Ink’, aired on the channel, Oxygen. The show is basically a talent hunt program, aimed at discovering skilled tattoo artists. Romeo made full use of the platform and showcased his skills. The judges too, liked the fact that his ideas were quirky and fresh. They also liked Romeo’s illustrative tattoos that narrated an entire story in just a single design.

He performed consistently in the first few episodes, but was eliminated in the eighth episode. Nevertheless, he was already quite famous by then. Soon after returning home, he opened his tattoo lounge ‘California Dream Tattoo’ in North Hollywood, Los Angeles. He once again brought something new to the table with his idea of amalgamating lounge with a tattoo parlor. He came up with this idea so that his clients can not only get themselves a tattoo, but also enjoy the overall experience.

Romeo’s popularity began to spread like wildfire. Even celebrities came to know about his passion and skills. Romeo was ecstatic when he came to know that Justin Bieber wanted him to be his tattoo artist. After tattooing Bieber, he went on to work on celebrities like Ariana Grande, Soulja Boy and Kirstin Maldonado. Kirstin, who got a Rose inked on the side of her ring finger, appreciated Romeo for his extraordinary skills. She was amazed to see his incredible talent when he drew the design directly on her finger without tracing it. Romeo posted the video of Kirstin getting inked on his YouTube channel.

Romeo posts a variety of videos on his channel. He even started a series, ‘Tattoo Pain Game’, which is a challenge game show. His second game show, ‘Tattoo Roulette’, is produced by Disney. In the show, he throws extremely difficult challenges to his guests and if they win, they walk away with a free tattoo.

Romeo Lacoste was born on January 19, 1989 in Montreal, Canada. Romeo is the oldest among six siblings. He moved to California where he did his schooling. His brother Mickey is also a YouTube star and a musician. Romeo has Mickey’s portrait tattooed on his upper arm. At a point in time, Romeo wanted to become a professional wrestler as he loves watching MMA and WWE.

Romeo’s favorite sport is surfing and skateboarding. He can surf for six to seven hours at a stretch. He also loves to dance and used to perform break dance when he was in school. Among his tattoos, the one inked on his back which is a huge tattoo of a Japanese Samurai, is his favorite. He also loves Thai tea and once said that he can drink gallons of it.

Romeo once visited Japan and loved the experience, so much so that he wants to move to Japan permanently. He is even planning on opening a tattoo lounge in Japan so that he can show off his skills in the land of rising sun.